


Spark

by gun_emoji



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Alcohol, Drift Bond, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Post-Canon, Recreational Drug Use, but literally the night after the ending, but only a dash of angst, just guys being dudes, this is some next level gay shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2019-02-15 13:42:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13032363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gun_emoji/pseuds/gun_emoji
Summary: "It's awfully difficult to waltz with a cane, you know.""We're scientists, man. We'll figure it out." Newton was smiling that stupid smile again and Hermann felt slightly sick.





	Spark

It was the night after they had saved the world. There had been a big celebration in the Shatterdome, with almost every surviving staff member attending. Those who were lost were remembered with a small memorial, and after that everyone attempted to drown their pain in upbeat music and champagne.

The party had gone on deep into the night, but by 2 a.m. everyone had disbanded to either go to bed or celebrate elsewhere. When few people remained, Newton decided it was time that he leave as well. He figured Hermann would have gone to bed by now, as he hadn't attended the party, so he made his way back to the laboratory to retrieve his belongings and return to his dorm as well.

The wall was his only source of support, and he clung to it for dear life until he reached the entrance. He struggled with the knob for several moments before the door swung open from the other side.

There stood Hermann, who greeted him with a confused stare. Newton gave him a bright smile, eyes half-lidded.

"Hey there, buddy! How ya doing? Good, right? That's awesome," he grabbed Hermann's shoulder for support as he stumbled past him. The taller man gripped his cane, preparing to scold him.

Newt tried to sit in his seat, but missed and crashed into the floor.

"Shit!" He laughed, laying there for a moment before standing up to try again. This time, he tumbled into his chair successfully, but without any semblance of grace. 

"You really should not be inebriated in this room. There are thousands of dollars worth of expensive equipment, and I will not have you breaking anything!"

Newt put his finger up to his lips, shushing Hermann, who was now fuming with anger.

"Dr. Geiszler, you will _not_ disrespect me! How dare y-"

"Why are you so mad at me, man? We- we saved the fucking world! What, I'm not allowed to have fun anymore? What are you, the, _hic_ , fun police?"

"I'm not going to speak to you when you're like this."

"Fine man, whatever! Go away, see if I care! Y'know, I really don't need this right now. Why are you being such a b-"

Hermann slammed the door to the lab with a huff. He started to walk in the direction of his room, but only got halfway there before a pang of guilt struck him.

Newton's anger, frustration, and drunkenness dominated the drift. However, beneath all of that, there was sadness.

He sighed, rubbing his eyes in exhaustion.

Newton was, unfortunately, his only friend in the world. Hermann knew he shouldn't treat him with such disdain, but it was difficult not to when he was almost too drunk to stand. 

He had never understood why anyone would attempt to escape themselves with substances. It didn't seem logical to him, especially considering how bright Newton was. Why would he ever want to dull his brilliant mind?

He felt betrayed that the Newton he knew, ( _"his Newton,"_ his brain insisted), was gone and replaced with an uncoordinated, foolish child who reeked of alcohol. Not too far from Newton's usual state of being, he realized.

Plus, if he wasn't in there, Newton would be much more liable to break something. In fact, it was Hermann's duty to ensure he didn't! At least, that's what he told himself as he turned around and reentered the lab.

Newton sat at his desk, grumbling and opening a drawer. He pulled a tin lunchbox out, and it was adorned with illustrations of kaiju. 

From within it, Newton pulled out a mason jar and a small glass object, both lovingly tucked into a pillowcase that sat within the box.

Hermann cleared his throat, and Newton finally looked up.

"Oh, what? Are you here to rat me out to Pentecost now? Is that it?"

He must have been too drunk to remember what had happened to Pentecost. He decided not to bring it up, as he didn't want to upset Newton any more.

"'Rat you out?' What would I have to report to-" Hermann's expression morphed into shock as he put two and two together.

"Is- is that... _marijuana_?"

Newton chuckled and gestured to the chair next to his. Hermann's immediate instinct was to run away and tell one of his superiors, but he choked down his morals and took a seat.

"I'm here to apologize."

Newton ceased filling the pipe and surveyed Hermann, trying to figure out if he was being genuine. The drift told him that this was, in fact, the case.

"Apology accepted," he grinned, bringing the pipe to his lips. He lit it and inhaled for a few seconds before breathing the smoke out.

"Good lord, that smells revolting!"

"That's how you know it's good, dude!" Newton giggled. "Do you wanna try?"

Hermann chewed his lip, considered his options. He could say no and leave, hurting Newton's feelings once again. Perhaps he could politely decline, but then he'd have to sit in uncomfortable silence, not knowing what to say. Or, there was the most frightening option: he could throw his caution to the wind and try something new with the only person in the world he unflinchingly trusted.

Newton must have heard his decision through the drift, because he cheered a bit too loudly and patted Hermann on the back.

"Hell yeah! This so awesome, man, you're gonna love it. This is so cool!"

Hermann didn't know whether or not to believe that, but he smiled anyway.

"Okay, so let me tell you to how to do it," Newton swiveled his chair to face the other man directly.

"So you hold it up to your lips and cover this with your thumb," he gestured to the hole on the side of the pipe, "and I'll light it for you. Breathe in for a second, and then you just take your finger off and inhale a little more and you're golden!"

Hermann followed the instructions, and after several clumsy attempts the lighter clicked to life. Newton held the flame over the bowl until it was bright orange, and instructed him to take his finger off.

The smoke burned, and he coughed at an obnoxious volume.

"I need a," he hacked, "a drink, please, quickly-"

"Yeah, no, of course! Uhh," Newton scanned the area frantically before opening a different drawer in his desk and uncapping a clear bottle. Hermann grabbed it and swallowed the liquid inside without hesitation, before he began coughing and sputtering harder.

"What in God's name is this?" Hermann choked out.

"It's just, like, a little bit of vodka!"

"Newton!"

"It's all I have, dude! I panicked!"

Hermann took shallow breaths until he recovered enough to smack Newton's arm.

"Ow! What the fuck?"

The older man scowled, wiping the involuntary tears from his face.

"Alright, I guess I probably deserved that." Newton took a swig from the bottle.

"You most certainly did."

"Do you wanna try again? At the smoking thing, I mean?"

There was silence for a second as Hermann considered.

"Fine, I will give it one more attempt if you retrieve water for me beforehand."

The smaller man got up, grabbing a cup from his desk. As he was rinsing it out, Hermann felt an immense warmth growing in his chest. He deducted that it was from the alcohol. His mind also felt a bit foggy, but in a pleasant way.

When Newton sat back down, they repeated the process. This time, Hermann did not cough immediately. He managed to hold the smoke in for a few seconds, and then blew it out in a small cloud.

The water was lukewarm as it traveled down his throat, but he didn't really mind. The glass was empty in less than a minute.

"Hang on, let me make you something." 

Newton grabbed the bottle of vodka once more, filling the cup a quarter of the way with the clear alcohol. Then, he stood up to get something from the fridge. When returned, he poured purple powerade in with it until the glass was full. His unsteady hands had spilled some of the liquids across his desk, but he didn't even notice.

"Try it, it'll taste way better now."

It did indeed taste much better, but the slight burn was still there. Hermann finished his drink rather quickly, while Newton took sips from the bottle.

"Do you want any more?"

Hermann was beginning to feel the effects of the substances.

"No, no thank you. I'm quite alright for now."

"Your loss," Newton shrugged, walking over to the radio that sat on the counter. He hit play on it, and a classical song began.

"Dude, did you really put one of your CDs in my radio again? What'd you do with the one that was already in there?"

"I put it back in the library, where it's _supposed_ to be."

"Fine, fuck it! I'll just dance to this. Come here."

"...Why?"

"I can't dance to classical shit alone! You need a partner to do the dances right."

"You know how to waltz?" Hermann raised his eyebrow quizzically.

"Well, no, but it never hurts to try! Come on, dude, please? I'm bored!"

"Is my company not enough for you?" Hermann joked as he stood, feeling unbalanced.

Hermann tried to hide the slight flutter his heart did as he took Newton's hand in his own.

"It's awfully difficult to waltz with a cane, you know."

"We're scientists, man. We'll figure it out." Newton was smiling that stupid smile again and Hermann felt slightly sick, but in the best way possible.

They shuffled back and forth with no coordination or knowledge of what they were supposed to be doing, but they smiled at each other. Hermann closed his eyes, swaying back and forth to the music. It felt like the music was in him in a way he'd never experienced before.

"I fucking love Beethoven, man. He's so talented, it's crazy."

Hermann let out a sudden laugh.

"This is Johann Strauss, dear, not Beethoven."

The dancing had stopped, and he opened his eyes to see what the problem was. Newton just stared up at him, eyes wide.

"Did...did you just call me dear?"

Blushing furiously, Hermann tried to find an excuse.

"Did I? Hm, I-I hadn't noticed, must have just been a slip of the t-"

Lips met his own, and they both stood still for a moment before Newton pulled away.

"S-sorry, I shouldn't have-"

Then there was a hand in his hair as Hermann leaned back in, kissing him again and again and again.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed this as much as i enjoyed writing it!! HUGE shoutout to my beta reader eraserheadfucker69, aka the powerade to my vodka


End file.
